Facebook Messenger is Coming to Mac and Windows

Facebook has announced that its bringing Messenger to Mac and Windows. The desktop Messenger app is in testing now and will launch later this year.

The company also announced a faster, lighter app, the ability to watch video with others, a dedicated space to discover stories, and more...

● A Faster, Lighter AppPeople expect their messaging apps to be fast and reliable. We’re excited to announce that we’re re-building the architecture of Messenger from the ground up to be faster and lighter than ever before. This completely re-engineered Messenger will begin to roll out later this year.

● A Way to Watch TogetherWhen you’re not together with friends or family in your physical living room, Messenger will now let you discover and watch videos from Facebook together in real time. You’ll be able to seamlessly share a video from the Facebook app on Messenger and invite others to watch together while messaging or on a video chat. This could be your favorite show, a funny clip or even home videos. We are testing this now and will begin to roll it out globally later this year.

● A Desktop App for MessengerPeople want to seamlessly message from any device, and sometimes they just want a little more space to share and connect with the people they care about most. So today we’re announcing a Messenger Desktop app. You can download the app on your desktop — both Windows and MacOS — and have group video calls, collaborate on projects or multi-task while chatting in Messenger. We are testing this now and will roll it out globally later this year.

● Better Ways to Connect with Close FriendsClose connections are built on messaging, which is why we are making it easier for you to find the content from the people you care about the most. In Messenger, we are introducing a dedicated space where you can discover Stories and messages with your closest friends and family. You’ll also be able to share snippets from your own day and can choose exactly who sees what you post. This will roll out later this year.

● Helping Businesses Connect with CustomersWe’re making it even easier for businesses to connect with potential customers by adding lead generation templates to Ads Manager. There, businesses can easily create an ad that drives people to a simple Q&A in Messenger to learn more about their customers. And to make it easier to book an appointment with businesses like car dealerships, stylists or cleaning services, we’ve created an appointment experience so people can book appointments within a Messenger conversation.

We'll let you know when the macOS app is available. Please follow iClarified on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, or RSS for updates.